Electrical connectors are used to connect various forms of components and equipment. For example, some electrical connectors connect printed circuit boards to wires, which are used to convey power to appliances and utilities, such as lighting fixtures, ballasts and the like.
Overhead lighting, particularly the type used in warehouses and “big box” stores, presents a number of difficulties for those installing or maintaining the lights such as climbing to and working in rafters and other hard to reach places high above the floor, and often in low light conditions. Despite this, conventional connectors used in these applications generally have two or more separate pieces that must be assembled at the work site as part of terminating the wires during installation or maintenance. Thus, if a worker drops either piece of the connector while working on it, the worker may have to climb down, pick up the dropped piece, then climb back up to the work site, all of which increases the time, and thus the cost, of installation. In addition, falling and/or fallen pieces may create a hazard to those walking below.
Furthermore, the wires are often used in small spaces, with narrow, tortuous paths and tight tolerances. Conventional connectors used in overhead lighting applications are generally rectangular and have wide profiles and pointed edges. As a result, they have a tendency to become snagged, nor can they typically fit through standard size knock-outs in electrical paneling. Thus, terminated wires cannot simply be pulled from one or only a few locations and the installer must typically move about the rafters at or near each actual connection point. This problem may be aggravated because many conventional connectors also require the wires be crimped into the contact, adding an additional step to the process, which may require yet more tools.
These and other drawbacks are found in current connector systems.
What is needed is a connector that overcomes these and other drawbacks by reducing the number of separate pieces at the installation site and which can more easily be maneuvered through standard size conduits or knock-outs.